"The Simple Life," she broke up the engagement of two high school sweethearts!

"The Simple Life" has been a surprise hit as viewers watch hotel heiress Paris and fellow rich girl Nicole Richie mingle — and then some — with folks in the small town of Altus, Ark. And The ENQUIRER has gone behind the scenes to uncover some weird happenings off-camera!

Man-eater Paris, 22, didn't even have feelings for Trae Lindley, the guy who dumped his fiancee Caroline Cains for her, but instead staged the romance to boost the show's ratings, said a source in Altus.

At one point Paris and Caroline nearly came to blows after the heiress and Nicole heckled her high school graduation ceremony. And when taping was finished, Paris packed her Prada bags and blew out of town like a tornado, leaving the relationship between the 19-year-old lovebirds in ruins!

"Thanks to Paris, the future Trae and I were building was ripped apart within a matter of days," Caroline told The ENQUIRER in an exclusive interview.

"As lovers, Trae and I are back to square one."

And Trae told The ENQUIRER:

"There's a chance Caroline and I can mend our relationship, but it's going to take a lot of work. Caroline just doesn't trust me anymore." Said the source:

"The small town of Altus wasn't prepared for the havoc Paris and Nicole had in store!

"From day one, Paris made it evident that she wanted to find a guy — almost any guy — to hook up with while she was in Altus.

"She admitted to at least one person in Altus that 'The Simple Life' producers encouraged her to find a romantic counterpart because they thought it would make for 'good TV.'

"It wasn't very difficult for her to find a fall guy, because Paris was the first celebrity most of the townspeople had ever met. And she used that star power to cast a spell on Trae.

"Paris met Trae at the Altus bait shop where she and Nicole were working, and Trae was smitten.

"Then Paris ran into him a few nights later when she and Nicole were carousing, hanging out with some neighborhood kids at a local gas station.

"Trae is a handsome guy, so when Paris saw him again she made it pretty clear she wanted to hook up. And as the evening progressed, she continued to pursue him.

"As soon as Paris learned about Caroline through one of Trae's friends, she giggled and said, 'He has a fiancee? Well, we'll see about that!'

"She started rubbing against Trae, batting her baby blues, and flipping her hair.

"By the end of the evening, Trae had forgotten all about his fiancee and had become Paris' toyboy — whatever Paris wanted to do with him, he was game. It was really sad to watch Paris take a couple who were so madly in love and destroy them without a care in the world."

Caroline lived in Altus — population 817 — while Trae's family lived in Ozark, a nearby town where the couple attended high school.

As seniors, Trae and Caroline were voted Mr. and Miss Ozark High, and even professed their love for each other in the 2003 yearbook so that everyone could see how committed they were. Sources say Trae proposed to Caroline earlier this year, and had secretly planned to seal the deal with an engagement ring this Christmas.

"While Trae's guy friends were encouraging him to go after Paris, his female friends were begging him to consider Caroline and their relationship," the source told The ENQUIRER.

"Altus and Ozark are very small towns, so it was only a matter of days before word got back to Caroline that he and Paris were romantically involved.

"She knew all along that something was wrong, because Trae had a lot of unaccounted-for time and was blowing off their date nights. He barely had time for Caroline anymore.

"Besides, Caroline's friends began running into Trae and Paris at the bowling alley, movies or weekend parties at his friends' houses, and word kept getting back to her that he was cheating.

"Finally, Caroline was out on the town with friends one night and caught Trae and Paris red-handed — she saw the two of them hanging all over each other while on one of their secret dates.

"First, Caroline ripped into Trae. Then she began to exchange words with Paris. If Trae wasn't there to get between them, Caroline and Paris would have come to blows!" After the heated run-in that led to Trae and Caroline's split, Paris decided she was going to declare all-out war against her rival.

"Paris and Nicole attended Trae and Caroline's high school graduation and actually booed and hissed at Caroline and her friends as they walked across the stage," the source revealed.

"The families of those girls were outraged, as were most of the people at the ceremony.

"It was so bad that one of the school's faculty members warned Paris and Nicole that they would have to leave the premises if they didn't stop their heckling.

"After the ceremony, Paris and Caroline almost got into a catfight, but once again the two were separated before that actually happened."

The joke in Altus was that Paris has built-in party radar, because she and Nicole would show up at every single bash — even those they weren't welcome at, the source disclosed.

"Paris and Nicole were always the life of the party, doing things like flashing their breasts, dancing on tables or hamming it up for the cameras.

"Rumor has it that Paris partied at Trae's house a couple of times."

After taping ended, Paris and Nicole didn't waste any time giving up "The Simple Life" for life in the fast lane back in Beverly Hills. Sources say the girls packed their bags and headed out of town so quickly the soles of their Jimmy Choo shoes nearly left skid marks!

Trae and Paris have talked on the phone several times since she left Altus, but the romance started to dry up as soon as the cameras stopped rolling. And Trae says that while he's sorry about the way his engagement to Caroline ended, at least he'll always have Paris.

"My relationship with Paris was one of the most exciting things that has ever happened to me," he told The ENQUIRER.

"I got so caught up in the moment, the only thing in my life that seemed to matter was her.

"I loved Caroline and regret that things happened the way they did between us, but I still wouldn't trade my time with Paris for anything in the world."

And brokenhearted Caroline told The ENQUIRER:

"I've always loved Trae, and always will — even though he cheated on me with Paris.

"Trae and I were planning a future together when she came barging into our lives. We were going to move away to college together and share an apartment.

"I had no idea Trae was going to buy me an engagement ring for Christmas, and I probably would have accepted it.

Hmm..perhaps it's good that Caroline learned BEFORE moving away, accepting the ring, etc that Trae would cheat on her.

Obviously he's not <i>that</i> tore up about having done that to Caroline. In college when the luscious, long-legged, blonde blue-eyed girl starts to swoon over him, whatcha think he would have done?!

I'm in a loving, happy relationship right now...and if a celebrity hotty came to my town and "liked" me...I'd never leave my honey. No matter how old I was/am.

12-18-2003, 04:13 PM

Lucy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maveno

Hmm..perhaps it's good that Caroline learned BEFORE moving away, accepting the ring, etc that Trae would cheat on her.

Obviously he's not <i>that</i> tore up about having done that to Caroline. In college when the luscious, long-legged, blonde blue-eyed girl starts to swoon over him, whatcha think he would have done?!

Yeah, I think one day this Caroline girl will realize Paris did her a favor. (although not by heckling her high school graduation. So tacky!)

12-18-2003, 05:13 PM

Snowbie

I agree, if not Paris, it was gonna be someone else. He said he doesn't regret what he did, meaning he didn't care about Caroline's feelings getting hurt. So how much did he even love her. Probably just puppy love, they did just graduate high school.

12-18-2003, 05:24 PM

Wayner

I agree with the comments you folk made. The article didn't seem to put any blame on the guy at all. The bottom line is that if he was truly in love and committed to Caroline, he wouldn't have accepted Paris' temptation.

But heckling someone at their graduation ceremony is just horribly tacky and disrespectful.

12-18-2003, 06:45 PM

Maveno

Definately...

12-18-2003, 07:32 PM

CharlaFan

i agree with the above, if somebody cheats on me, the way i look at it is the person they cheated with just did me a big favor.

12-18-2003, 07:53 PM

totoro

Quote:

Originally Posted by CharlaFan

i agree with the above, if somebody cheats on me, the way i look at it is the person they cheated with just did me a big favor.

hmmm. I've been cheated on, and mostly just wanted to slap the other woman, right after I slapped him!!

I hate that there are so many women out there who will willingly get involved with a man who they know is already in a relationship...

...Paris seems to have a history of doing just that.

12-18-2003, 08:03 PM

KimmiSue

LOL Man eating porn "starlet" Paris

"My relationship with Paris was one of the most exciting things that has ever happened to me,".......That's sad he must have really loved his ex :ohno

12-18-2003, 08:06 PM

CharlaFan

Quote:

Originally Posted by totoro

hmmm. I've been cheated on, and mostly just wanted to slap the other woman, right after I slapped him!!

I hate that there are so many women out there who will willingly get involved with a man who they know is already in a relationship...

...Paris seems to have a history of doing just that.

I've been cheated on myself, i basically just dumped my gf and habor no ill will towards the guy. Way i look at it, he saved me the hassle of dating her anymore:)